Colleague off sick for five weeks. Has Doctors note. Is currently in Ibiza.

[MissChief]

How angry should I be? Queen wasp through letterbox while adopting boxing stance? He’s swanning about having a grand time while on the sick, without using his holidays while we’re picking up his work on top of ours. I believe my immediate management knows. Some are livid with rage about it, I’m unsure if I should be angry, ambivalent, not bothered etc. Please guide me oh masters of GD!

 

[MissChief]

Depends what they're off for, if it's stress or something along those lines then that doesn't really stop them going on holiday.

We don’t know why. We suspected Covid initially but not so sure now. He’s very much not a team player, does the bare minimum for anyone else yet expects us to pick up his slack which we have done for five weeks now. We work on a ticketing system, so far he’s an average of thirty tickets less than we have and some of us have 100 each.

 

[MissChief]

As Tom says, if the doctor says he has the likes of stress or depression, then a nice holiday could be considered as treatment or recuperation.

Should he be able to go while on sick leave, without using his actual holidays? The holiday year just started, there’s no issues with getting time off, I feel it’s taking the **** a little.

 

[MissChief]

Our work is not a high stress environment, far from it compared to other jobs even within the same company.

 

[MissChief]

So I can be unhappy about it, but can’t really do a lot about it. As I suspected really!

 

[MissChief]

what did you think you would be ablt to do about it? it has absolutely nothing to do with you, as has been said in this thread many times.

You should butt out and let management deal with things they understand, which you clearly dont. Be as unhappy as you want but keep your nosey nose to yourself.

Alright matey, steady on!

 

[MissChief]

Lots of keyboard warriors on here today!

OP, you have a right to be cross, especially if you are now feeling more overworked and underpaid than ever. I suggest you approach management and threaten to go on stress leave as the additional burden is affecting your mental health. That'll teach them for not reducing demand when capacity is constrained - textbook management.

They’ve just hired new people, they started today! Will take a while to come up to speed though!

 

[MissChief]

I said at the beginning, in the first post, 'I’m unsure if I should be angry, ambivalent, not bothered etc.'

There's nothing I can do about it really, it just feels a little like he's taking the Michael, but if he's signed off sick then I guess he can really do what he wants. It's a little frustrating he can go away without using up his holidays like We'd have to though!

 

[MissChief]

A couple of months ago he was unhappy with the workload. It’s busy and we’re kept busy all day but little does he realise than from six people we were working with only two people actually in for nearly two whole weeks thanks to holidays and his and another staff members sickness. Lots knows what he’d think about the workload then!

 

[MissChief]

no.

The op hasnot said that she has images of him on social media. someone else suggested it might be the case and it seems to have been taken as fact but the OP hasnt confirmed it.

Well, I’m a he (easy mistake to make from username, but you did assume my Gender!) and while I don’t personally have photos or social media with him, he HAS posted on social media that he’s in Ibiza. I don’t use Instagram where he posted but others in the team do, and follow him. And he knows this.

 

[MissChief]

apologys, i'm probably not the first one to assume that

No, you’re not.

 

[MissChief]

He didn’t have any holiday time pre-booked, AFAIK it’s something he recently organised, although I’m unsure if he was fly and cancelled his holidays. The team is small enough we track who is off on a spreadsheet.

 

[MissChief]

Did you all miss the part where I said

How angry should I be? Queen wasp through letterbox while adopting boxing stance? He’s swanning about having a grand time while on the sick, without using his holiday time

I’m unsure if I should be angry, ambivalent, not bothered etc

While it does bother me, as I think it would most people, I’m well aware it’s none of my business. My boss is quite unhappy about it though. I’ll send him the ACAS link.

OP you sound very jealous, and tbh a ****. As mentioned it has nothing to do with you, mind your own business.

If you need to pick up more work then surely that means you get more hours and more overtime pay, which is a good thing.

I more hours, there is overtime available if we want it. Part of his bonus is based on his tickets and how quickly he turns orders around. We’re keeping his bonus intact and good. We’re busy normally but not nose to the grindstone busy. When he’s been off and others are taking holidays then we need to knuckle down and we all get a bit stressed out leaving work to be added to the next days which is busy enough as it is.

 

[MissChief]

I actually find it sad that you are making such an issue of it

Some asked, I answered. As I said, I’m in two minds about it. It’s none of my business, I have no idea why he’s off sick, but openly flaunting your holiday in Ibiza on social media while we’re here picking up his work on top of our own would rile some people up, hence my question. There are differing opinions here also.

 

[MissChief]

He’s back at work today on a phased return. And has holidays booked for tomorrow and Monday, though I believe these were in already.

 

[MissChief]

Don't you just wish you could book a holiday to ibiza right now. Sun, Sand and Cocktails.

Apparently many of the clubs and pubs are still closed!

 

[MissChief]

Ive just been signed off with anxiety and stress for 3 weeks. During that time i have a prebooked holiday to butlins. I will still be going - in fact the doctor encouraged me to.

Pre-booked being the important term here. My colleague had no holidays booked and didn't request them either AFAIK. His Phased Return includes a half day today and prebooked holidays tomorrow and Monday.

 

[MissChief]

I think you perhaps mean taking holidays not holiday accrual.

I suspect that is partly what is causing some of the confusion in this thread - that an employee can request holidays (i.e. paid time off) during sick leave.

Requesting holidays doesn't mean you're necessarily going on holiday (you could simply decide to use those paid vacation days*) and likewise going overseas for a break can be done on sick pay (depending on circumstances), doesn't necessarily need to be taken as holiday.

*I took holiday to have knee surgery once, I didn't want additional paid time off as it would affect my profitability and therefore my variable pay



Nope, not at all. The important points here are the reasons he's off work and that the doctor has explicitly recommended going!

His reasons for being off work certainly don't prohibit him from going to Butlins and in fact, going to Butlins might well help with aiding recovery from the reasons he's off work. Whether it was pre-booked or not is completely irrelevant.

Absolutely agree about him taking a holiday, but this was pre-booked prior to being signed off and likely will still be using his holiday time.